Two's a Crowd

Here is another offering from my "Nationals beat writer" Cayce Troxel, or as she now wants to be known as, the resident "Nationals Snob."

As the saying goes, “two’s company, and three’s a crowd.”  Except, that is, when it comes to closing pitchers. There, one and only one is the golden ratio.

Rafael Soriano

With Rafael Soriano and Drew Storen on this year’s roster, however, the Nationals boast two first-rate closers.  Thus begging the question: is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

Storen was the Nats’ primary closer in 2011.  The right-hander finished sixth in the league in saves despite the team’s .500 record that year, recording 45 in 48 attempts.  While elbow surgery sidelined the Stanford grad for the majority of last season, Storen returned just in time for the stretch run.  Although Nats fans will best remember him for his blown save in Game 5 against the Cardinals, the closer was nearly perfect in his other four appearances, scattering 22 hits over 30 innings.

Storen’s promising return and incident-free offseason though was apparently not enough for Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo.  Perhaps haunted by recollections of Storen’s meltdown, Rizzo acquired Soriano, a free agent, in arguably the Nats’ biggest -- and most questionable -- signing of the winter.

Drew Storen

The MLB’s leader in saves with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010, Soriano joined the Yankees as an intended setup man for Mariano Rivera.  While injury put those plans on hold for a year, the righty got healthy at the right time -- just when everyone else was getting hurt.  After Rivera tore his ACL early last spring and his replacement, David Robertson, also went down with injury, Soriano slid into the Yanks’ closing role.  He quickly picked up where he left off in 2010, finishing third in the majors with 42 saves despite his delayed start to the season.

While Soriano’s success is more recent than Storen’s, both are more than capable of handling full-time closer responsibilities.  Soriano and Storen would be first options on any other team in the majors.  Under normal circumstances, the Nats’ dilemma would seem too good to be true.  In this instance though, it only causes concern.

The Nats are no stranger to having too much of something.  One of the most memorable cases coincidentally involved another Soriano -- this one, Alfonso.  A World Series winner and former second baseman for the Yankees and Texas Rangers, Soriano signed with the Nationals in 2005 under the assumption he would play the same position.  

With an already established second baseman in Jose Vidro, Rizzo and manager Frank Robinson had different plans.  Although Soriano adamantly requested to remain in the infield, Robinson inserted him in left field during a spring training game.  Soriano refused but was eventually forced to comply when threatened with “disqualification” from the franchise.  The story had a happy ending though, as Sori became the first player in major league history to join the 40 home runs-40 steals-20 assists club the following season.

As optimistic as such a tale might be, baseball scholars would point out that pitchers, especially closers, are a different breed.  It takes a certain psyche to be a closer, and switching to a setup role -- or, heaven forbid, middle relief -- requires a definite change in mindset.  

Even if such a transition were successful, it presents still another problem. With five relievers on the roster, the Nationals already have a well-stocked bullpen.  Tyler Clippard, the Nats setup man in 2011, converted 32 of 37 save attempts while filling in for Storen last season.  In addition, Craig Stammen and Ryan Mattheus combined for 140 innings and an ERA below 2.50; not to mention Zach Duke and Henry Rodriguez, who both looked impressive in spring training.  

While Johnson used all of his pitchers at least once in the opening week, calls to the bullpen should be rare with one of the best starting rotations in the MLB on the mound.  Relievers might be asking for more work, as opposed to more rest, this season.

What do the Nats plan to do with their Option 1 and 1a then?  Twice in the first week, manager Davey Johnson called Storen in for the eighth and followed with Soriano in the ninth.  The pair turned in identical results both times, perfect in their first appearances and far from it in their second, giving up two runs apiece to the Reds on Saturday and forcing the Nats to go into extra innings.

Two games is much too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions, though.  While Storen has not seemed opposed to the new role, his results will be what matter most moving forward.  Johnson will also need to be wary of the “trickledown effect,” making sure relievers like Clippard are not getting too rusty on the bench as the season progresses.  

If the Nationals plan to win as many games as they did last season, the team might be most effective taking the most unorthodox route -- alternating between Storen and Soriano in the closer role.  Neither would compile Cy Young-worthy stats that way, but they would be able to remain in their “natural” position.  That way, too, the rest of the bullpen would be unaffected.

Keeping the closers in their rightful place has one final, added benefit.  Should the Nats be bit by the injury bug again this year, a closer could be perfect trade bait come July.  While Soriano is unmovable with his two-year, $28 million contract, Storen is more marketable, having signed just a one-year, $2.5 million deal in January.  Relief pitchers are always in high demand as teams begin their playoff push.  Although they would certainly prefer to keep Storen rather than face him, he may be more valuable to the Nats in an opponent’s bullpen.

Storen may not know his future as a National, but one thing’s for sure: Rizzo sure does.  As the past few years have demonstrated, there is a method to the GM’s madness -- and a reason he was named the 2012 Executive of the Year.  While his decisions sometimes raise eyebrows of question at first, the results they yield often raise eyebrows for a different reason.